Q: How exactly do I make a breakfast smoothie that includes green leafy veggies. Do I put them straight into the blender with the other ingredients or juice them first? 

A: This is a great newsletter topic as we move into the new year. The previous two newsletters focused on "big" topics, mindsets and strategies. Now we're going to talk about putting those big plans into action. There's really only one question we ever have to answer in life: "What do I do now?"

When it comes to growing a fit family, each of us will have a different answer, depending on where we are and where we want to get to. So how do we decide what to do now? The simplest tool I know of is the 4-quadrant diagram that categorizes each possibility in two dimensions: easy/ hard and significant/ insignificant.

	Hard to Change . . . . . . . .  Easy to Change
Insignificant . . . . . . . . . Significant

The basic strategy in using this tool is, "Go for the Green." Find things that you can do easily that will have the biggest impact on your health and fitness, and focus all your energy into those. Ignore the red and blue, and get a bunch of greens under your belt before tackling the yellows. (Actually, once you've conquered the greens, some of those yellows will start turning green on their own.)

For example, let's say you want to improve your family's diet. By definition, working on other people is hard because you can't control them. So you work on yourself. Changing from whole milk to skim milk or switching from red meat to chicken are both insignificant changes, with no real impact on your health. So you work on replacing processed foods and dairy with fruits and vegetables. Bingo! You've got a strategy that is achievable and will have a real, noticeable and almost immediate positive impact on your health.

So what's the easiest way to get lots of produce into your life? For my money, throwing it into a blender for a minute is easier than cooking a stir-fry or a soup. And drinking down a smoothie is easier than sitting down to a big salad. Therefore, my nominee for the easiest, most impactful change you can make to your life is: The Big Green Smoothie.

Now, to answer your question, here are three variations of the smoothie that would make a wonderful addition to your day. If you can add two of these smoothies a day, you will fundamentally alter the chemistry of your body in a short time. Obviously, the best strategy is to replace the unhealthy breakfast with a healthy smoothie. But if you have the smoothie first, and then eat less bacon, fewer bagels, and cut out the coffee, you're well on your way.

Classic Smoothie

Blend liquid (either rice milk, soy milk, almond milk or water) along with a couple of pitted medjool dates and a banana. When the dates are pretty well blended, add whatever other fruits – fresh or frozen – and blend some more. Then toss in the greens – baby lettuces are very mild, or baby spinach, or whatever greens you like.

What about quantities? Figure a cup of liquid and one date per person. The rest is individual taste. Err on the side of more liquid, unless you enjoy watching your blender beg for mercy before gasping and burning out its motor.

Fruit Only Smoothie

As above, except without the greens. If you're feeding this to kids, you can add the healthy fats they need in three different ways:

1. Add raw nuts and seeds (1/4 cup per person of walnuts, almonds, or sunflower seeds)
2. Add ground flax seeds (1 tablespoon per person)
3. Add avocado (half an avocado per person)

The more frozen fruit you add to the fruit only smoothie, the more this dish looks and tastes like a frozen dessert. My daughter has gotten good at making strawberry "slushies" and garnishing them with mint leaves from the garden.

Check out this video demo if you're the sort of person who likes to check out video demos.

Citrus Salad Smoothie

This is another smoothie I’ve been enjoying lately, now that I can get delicious navel oranges at my local Costco:

Cut an orange into 8 pieces (from top to bottom) and peel each piece (should be very quick if you dig your thumb nail between the peel and the juicy section of fruit. Add the orange into the blender, pack 3-5 ounces of spring mix on top, then squeeze in the juice of one lemon (through a strainer, so I don’t get pits in the drink). Blend, and then add some fresh or frozen blueberries. It’s very intense, and perhaps a bit too salady for beginners, but it’s a heck of a way to start the day with a boat-load of nutrients and no uncomfortably full feeling.

Full Veggie Smoothie

This one is not for the beginners. You basically dump the contents of your produce drawer into your VitaMix (ordinary blenders won't "cut it" (haha) here), add water, and cross your fingers.

For example:

3 cups water
3 pitted medjool dates
1 banana
1 carrot (peeled if not organic)
1 beet, peeled
2 stalks celery
1 head broccoli
3 kale leaves, stemmed
1 apple, cored
1 pear, cored
1 cup assorted frozen berries

This will make enough for 4 adults, or 9000 kids. Peter Bregman and I filmed a Full Veggie Smoothie demo a while back, and you can still view it here.

So go out and start making smoothies. Experiment and let me know what works by posting your recipes to comments below. I'll feature the best new smoothie recipes in upcoming articles.

Gentlemen (and ladies), start your blenders!